Crenation

Crenation (from modern Latin crenatus meaning "scalloped or notched", from popular Latin crena meaning "notch")[1] in botany and zoology, describes an object's shape, especially a leaf or shell, as being round-toothed or having a scalloped edge.

[1] The descriptor can apply to objects of different types, including cells, where one mechanism of crenation is the contraction of a cell after exposure to a hypertonic solution, due to the loss of water through osmosis.

Pickling cucumbers and salt-curing of meat are two practical applications of crenation.

These erythrocytes look as if they have projections extending from a smaller central area, like a spiked ball.

[3] Acanthocytes and echinocytes may arise from abnormalities of the cell membrane lipids or proteins, or from other disease processes, or as an ex vivo artifact.